Layayoga: The Definitive Guide to the Chakras and Kundalini Read Online Free Page A

spiritual impetus of a great religious leader, religion remains alive and, consequently, becomes fruitful. But as soon as spirituality ebbs, religion becomes mere words without life.
    ‘When the spiritual force imparted by Buddha in his doctrine began to be diminished as time passed distortion and corruption came, and spirituality was replaced by the dead words of theory. At a certain time Shaṅkara, who realized Brahman in samadhi, was able to destroy the Buddhistic doctrine of lifeless words as then preached by the followers of Buddha, and to establish the Oupanishada One-and-All Brahman doctrine. This was possible because of his great spiritual power combined with the extraordinary brilliance of his intellect. But when Shaṅkara’s spirituality began to ebb in his followers in later times, the Brahman doctrine likewise assumed wordiness without spiritual life. In this condition it was unable to stand against the bhakti doctrine of the great bhaktiyogi Chaitanya, who was immersed in the deepest love of God, both in concentration and in daily life.
    ‘A religion or a doctrine when not strengthened by spirituality, cannot meet the spiritual needs of man. But even when a religion deteriorates through the withered spirituality of its adherents, there will always be some silent spiritual persons who uphold that faith or religion—the real yogis, otherwise the religion would become extinct. This is true of all religions.’
    Now I recollected the three great silent yogis: a Buddhist yogi who attained a very high level in samadhi; the well-known Christian yogi, Saint John of the Cross, from whose heart intense love ascended towards God in deep concentration; and a great Muslim yogi, Abdul Gafur, who was endowed with great spiritual power.
    I said: ‘It seems strange that God is not reflected in the unusually brilliant intelligence of a genius; the scientists do not know God; the philosophers only speculate about God; and God appears to remain hidden even to most followers of religion. Why is God very far away from us! Is religion superfluous for man living in the modern world?’
    Master: ‘God is far away when the “sight” is submerged in the materiality of our existence; it cannot go beyond the sensory boundary; and hence God is so far away that he is not seen at all.
    ‘God is very far and also very near. When God is “seen” within, he is ever present in our consciousness; the contact is never lost. When God is seen within, he is also seen without; and he is also seen in what is beyond both within and without. God is within and also outside and is what is neither within nor outside. No one can say “It is this, it is not that”. It is an infinite ocean of Being and Consciousness.
    ‘And also God cannot be denied. To deny God means to accept the permanent limitation of our beingness. In our being also lies the substance of infinity which becomes illumined in the Beingness of God. God is our being in its supreme stratum.’
    I was highly impressed by the profundity of the Master’s knowledge; and not merely that, I began to feel a real spiritual foundation upon which his knowledge was based. I began to appreciate that something deep and powerful was utilizing his intellect as an avenue for the outward expression of inner truth. I was proud of my learning and I devoted fifteen or sixteen hours a day to my studies. My pride began to be demolished; my arguments began to fail. However, I put one more question, and that was the last of its kind.
    I asked: ‘Why is this “cosmosity” which is the root of all our sufferings?’
    Master: ‘It can as well be said that because of the “cosmosity” we are given a chance to enjoy so much.’
    ‘Why has the universe been manifested? Who can answer that, and if it is answered, who can understand it? When human power cannot produce it, when human intelligence cannot penetrate into it, how can that question, as such, be helpful. Human intelligence is too small to solve